


Kenny

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: American Sign Language, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comforting Levi, Flashbacks, French Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Homeless Eren Yeager, Homeless Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Hospitals, Kenny Ackerman Being an Asshole, Kidnapping, Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Mute Eren Yeager, Neglectful Kenny, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Past Drug Use, Rape Recovery, Suffering Eren Yeager, Torture, Torture Recovery, Waiter Eren Yeager, Waiter Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), suffering in general
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-10-07 00:36:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10348392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The sudden sharp, stinging pain across his cheek from his slap quickly silenced Eren. He tried to speak again, but the man pressed a calloused finger against Eren's soft lips."Don't talk, Eren. Don't you ever speak unless I tell you to. You're mine, Eren, all mine. If you speak without my permission again, the punishment will be very severe. Do you understand me, Eren?"Eren gave a tiny nod."Your voice is so beautiful, Eren. And it's mine to control. Every part of you belongs to me, Eren... Tell me that you're mine.""I'm..... I'm y-yours.""Good boy."





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a new ficccc~ please don't read this if torture, rape, kidnapping, or abuse are triggers for you! also if i ever represent one of those subjects badly in this fic, please correct me !!!

Eren's face was creased in pain, his eyes squeezed shut, his lip bleeding from being bitten so hard. Hunger pains were biting mercilessly that night, and Eren couldn't do anything about it. He was curled up on his side, arms wrapped around himself for warmth and comfort. The hunger pains had been stabbing at him for a few days, but this was the worst that they'd ever felt. He struggled to swallow, his dry throat aching, his tongue feeling swollen in his mouth from the lack of water. His body was shivering, his teeth chattering in his skull, his toes painfully numb from the cold. Mother nature's icy fingertips were wrapping around him, slowly choking the life out of him.

Eren felt, not for the first time, as if the world was turned against him. It seemed as if he was destined to suffer. Eren forced his eyes open and looked up at the dark, blank sky, and he tried to pray again. He had never been much of a religious guy, but he had been doing a lot of praying lately. God was his last hope. His last chance to stay alive. Eren's eyelids fluttered but he fought to stay conscious, focusing on the airplane traveling across the sky above him. He couldn't help but wonder about the people on the plane. They were probably full of airplane food, warm and comfortable, living their normal lives without even sparing a thought to the helpless people beneath them. They didn't know that Eren existed, and they probably wouldn't care if they did. Eren rubbed his arms with numb hands, praying desperately to whatever deity that would listen. He noticed a few people walking by him, and he hoped that they would give him a bottle of water, a bag of chips... He'd take anything. But they just kept walking. Eren cursed his nonexistent luck. He wished that he could speak.. People might have helped him if he spoke to them. He had tried to- really, he did. Once he was far away from that godforsaken basement and he could breathe again, he tapped on a lady's shoulder and opened his mouth to ask for help.

"C-" Eren began, but a memory flashed in his mind and he cut himself off abruptly.

_The sudden sharp, stinging pain across his cheek from his slap quickly silenced Eren. He tried to speak again, but the man pressed a calloused finger against Eren's soft lips._

_"Don't talk, Eren. Don't you ever speak unless I tell you to. You're mine, Eren, all mine. If you speak without my permission again, the punishment will be very severe. Do you understand me, Eren?"_

_Eren gave a tiny nod._

_"Your voice is so beautiful, Eren. And it's mine to control. Every part of you belongs to me, Eren... Tell me that you're mine."_

_"I'm..... I'm y-yours."_

_"Good boy."_

Eren swallowed hard, heart racing, and stepped back from the lady. He couldn't say a word.. He had to be good. He had to be good. Eren so badly wanted to know where he was, what the date was... He wanted to get help more than anything. But he couldn't ask for it. He went around and tried to find something to write on, or some sign of where he was, but he only walked for half an hour before he was too worn out to keep going. He hadn't really stood up in the longest time.. Just walking was overwhelmingly exhausting. He laid down on the side of a street and fell asleep. For the next week, he tried to nonverbally ask for help from anyone who walked by, and went in many stores to find help. A lot of the people he encountered brushed him off immediately.. Store owners pushed him out the door, people walking by spat at his feet, and nobody paid him any attention. Eren finally just laid down and accepted his fate, too tired and destroyed to try anymore.

He had been laying there for hours when someone actually looked at him. People had been constantly walking by him, but nobody bothered to give him more than a glance until then.

Eren was still curled up on his side, shivering, his body tense as he tried to fight the hunger pains. He was panting weakly, wishing for the thousandth time that he was wearing something warmer than his thin t-shirt and jeans. People were continuously walking by him, but Eren noticed that someone stopped and stood in front of him. Sudden panic and fear overtook Eren, wondering if it was him... But then they spoke, and he relaxed a little.

"Hey, kid, can you hear me?" They asked in a smooth, deep voice with a French accent. Eren glanced up to meet the stranger's eyes. A man was standing in front of Eren.. He was wearing a fluffy black coat, and he had pitch black hair. Eren couldn't really see much else.

"Kid? Are you awake? Can you see me?" The man asked, doing something with his hands while he was speaking. Sign language..?

After several seconds, Eren nodded slowly and stiffly.

"Are you deaf?" The man continued, signing while he spoke. Eren slowly shook his head.

"Can you sit up?" He questioned.

Eren ever so slowly pushed himself up and leaned against the building behind him, wrapping his arms tightly around himself, looking up at the man again.

"Here, take this. You look like you're freezing to death." The man stated, taking off his coat and tossing it to Eren. Eren held the soft coat in his hands, blinking rapidly up at the man. The man cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Are you going to put it on or not?"

Eren blinked again and quickly pulled the coat on. He zipped it up, pulled the hood up, and burrowed his arms inside. It was so warm from being worn.. Eren closed his eyes and exhaled in relief at the sweet warmth.

"That's better, huh?" The man said, and Eren nodded.

"Can you speak, kid?"

Eren looked back up at him and shook his head.

"Ah." The man breathed, and kneeled down next to Eren.

"Have you eaten recently?"

Eren shook his head.

"Drank any water?"

Eren shook his head again.

"Do you think you could walk?"

Eren shrugged slightly.

"I'm on my way to my job at a restaurant. If you can walk, I could take you there and get you some food and water.. It'll be warmer in there too."

Eren's eyes widened.

"Does that sound okay to you?"

Eren eyed the man suspiciously. What if he was one of Kenny's friends, just trying to get Eren's hopes up before taking him back to that basement? What if, what if... Eren was very unsure, but after thinking for a moment.. He realized he had no other option. This was the only way he might survive.

Eren nodded a tiny bit.

"Sweet. Here, I'll help you up.."

The man grabbed Eren's arms to helped him stand, then hung Eren's arm over his shoulder to help him walk.

"My name's Levi, by the way. Let's go." The man stated, and they went on their way. It was a slow, arduous, painful journey, and Eren couldn't feel his legs the entire time. It took them several minutes, but eventually they made it to the restaurant. Levi took Eren in through the back door and brought him to the break room, where there was a large table, chairs, a couch, a fridge, and a microwave. He put Eren down on the couch.

Eren sighed in relief at the warmth of the room.. It was almost too warm, and Eren was so grateful for it. He sank into the cushions of the couch and struggled not to pass out.

Levi brought him a water bottle, a pillow, and a blanket.

"Drink the whole bottle, I'll be back in a second." He stated before disappearing.

Eren downed the bottle as fast as he could, and the water was so cold and delicious that he could've cried. He felt unbelievably grateful.

Eren suddenly noticed how sore his body was. He wasn't very bothered by it, though.. He had gotten quite used to pain. He could deal with the aching, since he'd been through much, much worse. He forced his mind away from that dark place, and focused on his current situation. He was at some restaurant, God knows where, with a random man with unknown motives. Eren thought of Armin and Mikasa. He wanted to find them so badly.. But where the hell would they be? How could he even find them? What if they were dead? What if they didn't want to see him? Chaotic, overlapping thoughts filled his mind, and Eren started breathing heavily, his heart picking up speed.

_Breathe. Calm down. Breathe. Do Fibonacci.. Breathe. Zero, one, one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty one, thirty four, fifty f-_

"Hey kid, are you still with me?" Levi's voice rang out, interrupting Eren's thoughts.

Eren flinched at the sudden interruption and looked at the man. He could see his face better indoors.. He looked very pale and had stunningly sharp features. He seemed to have a constantly disinterested, scowling expression.

"Here, I brought you a notepad and a pen if you want to say anything. I'm guessing you don't know any sign language." Levi said, handing Eren the items.

Eren immediately scribbled something down.

'Where are we?'

He showed the paper to Levi.

"The restaurant? It's called Wings of Freedom." Levi said.

Eren shook his head and wrote down more.

'No, I mean what city.'

Levi gave him a puzzled expression when he saw that.

"Um.. New York City. Do you have amnesia or something?" He said, confused.

Eren shook his head.

'What's the date?' He wrote.

"It's March 14th." Levi answered.

'What year?'

Levi looked at him like he was crazy again, but decided not to question it.

"2017."

Eren swallowed hard, and looked down at his lap.

He knew it had been a long time, but learning how long it had really been since he was free was like shooting a bullet through his heart. Eren had been in that fucking basement for about 13 months. It... It had been a year. Eren took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down.

'My name is Eren by the way. Thank you for helping me.' Eren wrote down.

"Nice to meet you, Eren. I'm going to get you some food and water, and then I have to go work. You can either stay here or go sit somewhere in the restaurant.. Or you can leave if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it. I'll make sure nobody bothers you.. I'm really close with my boss and I know he won't do anything." Levi said, and Eren nodded.

Levi brought him a water bottle and a big bowl of macaroni and cheese.

"Okay, I've gotta go work now, kid. I'll see you at my break though, if you're still here." Levi stated, and disappeared.

Eren relaxed against the couch and ate his food, his mind wandering. He thought about Kenny, but he made himself push that man out of his mind. He thought about Mikasa and Armin again.. He wondered where they ended up. They were 18 by then, so they weren't in the foster home anymore. Eren really hoped they were okay. Eren would be 18 soon too... He wouldn't be able to live at the foster home either. What the hell was Eren supposed to do? He didn't have a high school diploma or a resume, so he wouldn't be able to get a job... He had nowhere to live.. And he was hours away from his hometown. He used to live in Rhode Island, but he ended up alone and lost in New York City. What the fuck would happen next? Fear took over Eren, and he took a deep breath, going over the Fibonacci sequence to calm down.

Eren finished his food and water, then laid down on the couch. He pulled the blanket up over his body and closed his eyes. He took deep breaths and fell asleep to the image of Kenny's scowling face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!! i have about 17 chapters of this fic written so far, so please let me know if you'd like some more!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's another chapter, I don't like it very much so I'm gonna add another one right after to make up for it. hope you enjoy though!

Levi found Erwin in the back of the restaurant.

"Levi, where have you been? You're ten minutes late.." Erwin told him, his giant eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.

"Don't shit your pants, Erwin. I was helping a homeless kid." Levi told him, the kid's beautiful, colorful eyes flashing in his mind.

"Oooooooh, did you just say you were _helping_ someone? Our own stone cold Levi Ackerman?" Hanji butted in, appearing out of nowhere.

"Get the fuck out of here, Hanji, mind your own damn business." Levi hissed, and she pouted at him.

"Awh, don't get mad at me, munchkin!" Hanji whined. Levi scowled, clenching his fists.

"Hanji I will tear you to pieces I swear to fucking-" Levi growled, but Erwin cut him off.

"Both of you stop it. Hanji, get out of here." Erwin said with a sigh.

Hanji stuck her tongue out at Levi before walking away, and Levi let out a "tch."

"What homeless kid, Levi?" Erwin questioned, changing the subject.

"There was a kid on the side of the street on the way here. He looked like he was on the brink of death.. I couldn't just leave him there, Erwin, you know that." Levi said, his voice serious.

Erwin's expression softened.

"Yes, yes, I know.." He mumbled. "Where is this kid you're talking about?"

"I brought him to the break room. I... don't know what to do with him, Erwin." Levi said, exhaling heavily. "He's.. Strange. He didn't know where he was.. He didn't even know what year it was. And he doesn't speak. I can't help but be curious about the kid."

Erwin's eyebrows furrowed.

"Does he have amnesia?"

"No, I asked."

"Hmm.. I want to see him."

"Fine. But I'm coming too.. I don't want you to bother the kid."

Levi and Erwin walked back to the break room to see Eren asleep on the couch, burrowed under the covers, still wearing Levi's coat. He had a messy mop of brown hair on his head and bruises on his face and neck.. His expression was twisted with discomfort even in his sleep. His lip was bloody and torn and he had bags under his eyes. His skin was slightly tanner than Levi's, and it was littered with dirt and bruises. He was curled up on his side, holding onto the blankets, and Levi could see red scars and dark bruises circling his wrists.. They only made him more curious.

The kid looked young and vulnerable.. But Levi could tell that Eren wasn't naive or immature. His eyes had a dull, damaged look to them. Something bad had obviously happened to him, but Levi had no idea what it was. Eren seemed like he had seen the horrors of the world too early in his life, just as Levi had... Maybe that's why Levi was so curious about him. Maybe he saw a little bit of himself in the kid.

"What should I do, Erwin?" Levi murmured.

"I think you already know." Erwin replied, and Levi silently cursed him for always being right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ghhhh i hate how this chapter ends but i didn't know how else to end it rip. anyway thanks so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooOoo another chapter

Eren woke up to Levi gently shaking him awake. Eren immediately flinched away and tensed up, until he realized who was in front of him. He relaxed and let out a breath, remembering that he was free.

"Hey, Eren." Levi said softly. "My shift is over.. You've been asleep for about six hours. I was going to wake you up during my break but it seems like you needed your sleep."

Eren rubbed his eyes and sat up, still in shock over the fact that he didn't wake up to Kenny's face in front of his.

"Eren, do you have a home?" Levi asked out of nowhere, making Eren blink at him. "I'm sorry to be so forward, but.. I can't help but ask."

Eren reached over and grabbed the notepad and pen, but paused with the pen hovering over the paper, unsure of what to write down.

"You don't have to be ashamed of it if you don't. I was homeless for about a year when I was younger, so I know what it's like." Levi told him.

Eren started writing.

'I.. guess I am homeless. I lived in a foster home but I'll turn 18 soon and I'll be too old to go back.'

"So you're 17?" Levi questioned, and Eren nodded. "Mm.. I was homeless when I was 16. I'm 25 now."

"Where did you used to live?" Levi asked.

Eren wrote that he lived in Rhode Island.

"How did you end up in New York?" Levi wondered, and Eren tensed up. He shook his head, refusing to answer, trying not to think about it.

Eren started writing.

'Could you do me a favor?'

"What is it?"

Eren bit his lip.

'Could you call a number for me? I have friends who lived at the foster home with me, and I want to see if they have a place I could move in to.'

"Oh, sure. I just need the number and what you want me to say." Levi told him.

Eren wrote down all of the information, and Levi called the foster parents to ask about Armin and Mikasa. Eren chewed on his lip nervously during the conversation, his heart racing. His panicked 'what ifs' came back, and he couldn't stop thinking about the worst case scenario. He didn't realize how shallow his breathing was until Levi tapped on him and shot him a concerned look.

'Sorry.' Eren mouthed, taking a deep breath.

Levi put the phone down once the conversation was over.

"They said they can't tell me anything about your friends since they don't know who I am. They told me that you have to call them yourself..." Levi said, a small frown on his face.

Eren swallowed and looked away, unsure of what to do. He really wished he could just speak.. That would make everything so much easier. But when he considered it, Kenny's scowl appeared in his mind and fear shot down his spine. He felt trapped. He wanted to go live with Armin and Mikasa so badly, but he had no idea where they were, and the only way to find out was by speaking... Which he couldn't do. The only thing he could think of doing was going to his old foster home in Rhode Island and asking the foster parents in person.. But that would cost money that Eren didn't have.

"Hmmmm.. Do you know if either of them have social media accounts? You could talk to them on there.."

Eren shook his head.

'No, they never had phones, and they're not the type of people who would care about that. I really don't think they do.'

Levi fell silent for several minutes.

"Would you be comfortable staying at my apartment with me?" Levi blurted, and Eren stared at him in shock.

"I know that's very sudden... And I'm sorry. It's fine if you don't want to. I know what it's like to not have a place to stay, and I don't think anyone should have to go through something like that. I only have a one bedroom apartment, but I could sleep on the couch. You could stay as long as you need to.. I really don't mind." Levi explained, seeming surprised at his own words.

Eren stared at him in awe before writing in response.

'I don't have any money or a job.'

Levi shrugged.

"It's fine. I could get Erwin to give me a raise.. And I doubt it would be a lot more money. Really, it's fine."

Eren continued to gape at him.

'Really?' He wrote.

"Yeah, kid."

'Why are you being so nice to me? What's the catch here? What's your price?' Eren scribbled down, wary of the offer. It sounded too good to be true.

"Like I said, I just don't think anyone should have to be homeless. And you seem like a really good kid. There's no price, Eren. I'm usually never this generous, but.. I have a feeling you could use some kindness." Levi stated.

Eren really, _really_ could use some kindness.

'Thank you so much.' Eren wrote. He was still cautious of Levi, just in case.. But he was so grateful for the helping hand.

"You're welcome, kid. Let's go, if you're ready.. My apartment isn't very far from the restaurant. And you should keep that notepad." Levi said.

They both exited the break room, and almost ran straight into Erwin.

"Oh, I apologize.. Ah.. Hello, I'm Erwin Smith, the owner of Wings of Freedom." He introduced himself to Eren, holding out a hand for him to shake. Eren hesitatingly shook his hand, quickly yanking his arm back when he felt the callouses on Erwin's hand. Strong, rough hands.. Eren couldn't help but think of Kenny. Eren's cheeks immediately reddened at his embarrassing reaction.. Erwin probably thought he was rude.

"Excuse us, Erwin, we were just leaving." Levi told him, trying to fix the awkwardness.

"Go ahead.. Have a nice night, both of you." Erwin said, stepping back to give them room to leave.

"Thanks." Levi mumbled, and Eren nodded slightly. They walked out of the restaurant and went to Levi's apartment. It didn't take too long to walk there, but Eren was wheezing and barely standing up once they arrived. Levi seemed very worried and confused by his lack of stamina, but didn't question it. He brought Eren into his tiny apartment and helped him sit down on the couch. Levi brought him water and sat down on the chair near him.

"You okay, kid?" He murmured.

Eren was still struggling to breathe correctly, but he wasn't wheezing anymore. He nodded breathlessly, and took the bottle of water.

"Do you want to take a shower?" Levi wondered.

Eren nodded. He hadn't had a real shower in a year.. God, he would have killed someone for a nice, hot shower while he was in that goddamn basement.

Levi went to find some clothes for Eren to change into once he finished drinking his water.. He brought back a sweatshirt, boxers, and sweatpants, and led Eren to his bathroom. Levi told him that he'd have food ready once Eren got out, then he left. Eren locked the door, turned around, and flinched once he saw himself in the mirror. He hadn't seen himself in so long. He looked so much shittier than he remembered. Eren's hair was a tangled mess on his head, and it was longer than he would've liked. Bruises, scars, and dirt littered all of his visible skin.. He had scars from his handcuffs on his wrists and heavy bags under his eyes. His eyes were duller than they used to be.. They had none of the childish excitement they held before. He looked much older. His usually tan, caramel skin was much paler. He was slouching and looked absolutely awful. Eren cringed away from himself and got into the shower. The hot water soothed his sore muscles but stung his wounds in the process.. He didn't really mind. He felt so clean that he didn't care at all. He almost didn't notice the red trickling down his leg... _Almost_.

Eren washed himself four times before he felt satisfied. He didn't feel clean at all on the inside, but at least he was on the outside. The water at his feet was swirling with dirt and blood. Finally, Eren got out and pulled on Levi's clothes. He glanced at Levi's coat from earlier.. Eren didn't know why, but he didn't want to give up the coat. It was comforting and warm.. Eren pulled the coat on and immediately felt better. He glanced back into the mirror and he looked a bit healthier than before. He ran a hand through his hair, gave up on it, and walked out.

He walked into the tiny living room to see Levi in the kitchen, putting spaghetti onto two plates.

"Hey there, kid. I hope you're not allergic to any of this." Levi stated, handing one of the plates and a bottle of water to Eren.

Eren nodded in appreciation and took the food, sitting down on the couch with Levi while they ate in silence. They ate quickly, put their plates in the dishwasher, and Levi decided it was time for bed. It was really early in the morning, and Eren was exhausted despite his nap earlier. The rapid changes in his environment were pretty overwhelming, and he tired easily. Levi told Eren to sleep in his bed, and Eren tried to change his mind, but Levi wouldn't be swayed. He stubbornly refused to sleep anywhere but the couch.

"Come get me if you need anything in the middle of the night, kid. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Levi stated, smiling ever so slightly at Eren.

Eren nodded.

"Goodnight, kid."

Eren walked into Levi's room, shut the door, and buried himself in the covers. Levi's coat smelled like pine trees and tea.. It made Eren feel protected somehow. He fell asleep with a full stomach and warm clothes, laying comfortably in a bed, feeling safer than he had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!! i'd love to hear any thoughts you have on this!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short nightmare chapter wooooo! i combined two chapters of my notes to make this one bc it seemed way too short. also, thanks so much for the support! my heart grows like 10x bigger every time i get a comment or kudos im so happy ;;;; thank youuuuu

Levi stayed awake for half an hour thinking curiously about Eren, but eventually, he succumbed into sleep.

Only a few hours passed before Levi woke up. He was abruptly woken by the sound of screaming from the other room.. Eren..? Levi threw off his blanket and rushed into his bedroom, flicking the lights on. Eren was tangled up in the covers, eyes squeezed shut in a pained, fearful expression.

"D-don't.. PLEASE..!! L-leave m-m-me alone.. It h.. Hurts.. Stop...! Pl..ease.." Eren begged, his voice weak and cracking in broken desperation. He was sobbing and shaking, jerking from side to side, trying to escape his invisible attacker. Levi sat down on the edge of the bed and gently shook his shoulder, but Eren didn't wake up.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry.. Please..!" Eren cried, his voice hoarse. Levi shook him a little harder, needing to rescue Eren from the hellish nightmare. Eren shot straight up with a loud cry of, "I'm sorry..!" His eyes were blown wide with fear, and they locked on Levi. He inhaled sharply and cowered away from Levi instinctively.

"Hey, kid, it's just me. It's just Levi. It's okay.. Just breathe. You're going to be fine. It was a nightmare. You're not there anymore." Levi whispered soothingly, carefully watching Eren's expression. He looked absolutely terrified. He wrapped his arms around myself and leaned back against the wall, breathing shallowly and rapidly. He whimpered and closed his eyes tightly, hanging his head. Levi wondered what demons he was fighting so hard.

"Hey, Eren, shhh.. You're going to be okay. Everything's okay. You're just sitting in bed, nothing's happening to you. Whatever happened is over now, okay? Just focus on breathing." Levi said quietly, every bit of him aching to help the boy in front of him.

\-------

Eren's nightmare felt so fucking real, he could barely fathom it when he woke up in Levi's bed. Kenny was on top of him, growling insults in his ear while he thrusted violently into him. He told Eren he was a bad, bad boy, and he deserved the punishment he was getting. Eren cried and begged and screamed through the unbearable pain, apologizing for whatever he did to deserve that treatment. He felt like he was in hell, and suddenly, he was yanked out of the nightmare and thrown into reality. It was very difficult for him to calm down after the realistic nightmare.. Eren felt so weak, vulnerable, and utterly destroyed while Levi calmed him down. Eren was having trouble with his breathing, so he started the Fibonacci sequence to calm himself down. He breathed out the numbers silently, his eyes closed tight while tears rolled down his face.

_Zero, one, one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty one, thirty four, fifty five, eighty nine, one hundred forty four, two hundred thirty three, three hundred seventy seven, six hundred ten, nine hundred eighty seven, one thousand five hundred ninety seven..._

And he could breathe again. He slowly opened his eyes to meet Levi's.

"There you go, kid.. You alright?" Levi said softly.

Eren exhaled heavily and nodded a bit.

'Thank you.' He mouthed, unspeakably grateful for Levi's generosity.

"No problem, kid. Do you wanna talk about it, or just go back to sleep?"

Eren pointed down at his bed.

"Alright. Hold on.." Levi said, leaving the room to grab a water bottle for Eren. He brought it back and made Eren take a few sips.

"I'll give you some space now.. Come get me if you need anything, okay?" Levi murmured.

Eren nodded. Levi gave him a slight smile before leaving, turning the lights off on his way out. Eren sighed and collapsed back onto the bed. He really, really didn't want to go back to sleep.. He was still tired, but what if Kenny haunted his dreams again? God, Eren felt a chill down his spine just thinking of the man's name. He never wanted to see him or think about him ever again.. Now that he was free, he just wanted to wipe away the past and return to how life used to be.

But he knew that was impossible.

Eren wiped the tears off his face and took a few deep breaths, trying not to think about Kenny. He counted numbers to himself until he eventually, finally fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading !!! <333


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u so much for the support, here's a chapter that i actually like nice

Eren woke up to Levi lightly shaking his shoulder. Eren couldn't help but immediately flinch away and raise his arms in protection, but he relaxed once he saw who was there.

"Good morning, kid.. It's 2:00 PM." Levi told him in his wonderfully smooth, French accent.. His voice was so much different than Kenny's. So much more relaxing.

Eren rubbed his eyes and sat up, yawning.

"I made a pizza, by the way, if you're hungry."

Eren nodded.

"I have to go to work from 7:00-3:00 tonight, so I'll be gone then." Levi told him.

They went into the living room and ate their pizza in silence. Once they finished and washed up, Levi asked Eren what he wanted to do.

Eren grabbed his notepad and his pen.

'What do you usually do in your free time?' He wrote down.

Levi shrugged.

"Nothing special. I watch movies, read books, go for walks.. Normal shit like that. Pretty boring, but.."

Eren started writing again.

'Can I ask you something?'

"Go for it, kid."

'You have a French accent, right? Are you from France or Canada or something?' Eren wrote, curious.

"Ah, yes. I used to live in Paris when I was young." Levi explained.

'Wow. When did you move here?'

Levi winced slightly, like that was a painful memory for him.

"I moved here to New York City when I was ten years old.. But I learned English before that, when I was even younger. My family was wealthy back then, so I had a tutor."

'So you know English and French? That's pretty cool.'

"I suppose so. My tutor taught me French and American Sign Language, too." Levi told him, and Eren's eyes widened so much that Levi couldn't help but chuckle at him.

'Four languages?!' Eren scribbled.

Levi chuckled again. "Yep."

'Why did you move here, anyway?' Eren wrote.

Levi winced again.

"Ehh... That's another story for another time." Levi stated. "You know what... Talking to you would be so much easier if you knew sign language."

Eren felt more curious from the subject change, but he didn't comment on it. After all, he had plenty of secrets of his own to hide.

'Sorry, all I know is English.' Eren wrote.

"Hmmm.. Would you like to learn some sign language? It's probably annoying for you to have to write all this down." Levi suddenly offered.

Eren cocked an eyebrow.

'Really?'

"Yeah, why not? We have time anyway."

Eren shrugged, then nodded a bit. That probably would make communicating a lot easier.. And Eren could really use a distraction from his mind.

Levi spent the next hour teaching Eren the alphabet in sign language, and a few basic phrases and words.

Once Eren had the whole alphabet memorized, Levi stated, "Now you can finger-spell words. If you need to say something but don't have paper or don't know the sign for it, you can just spell it out instead. Why don't we practice that for a bit?"

They practiced finger-spelling for the next half hour, until Eren could manage to do it well.

"You're pretty good at this, Eren.. You're a fast learner." Levi told him, and Eren thanked him gratefully.

Levi told Eren he had to go to the grocery store to pick up some food for the two of them, and asked Eren if he wanted to join him. Eren decided to stay in the apartment.. He doubted he was strong enough to walk around that much. Fuck, Kenny had turned him into such a weak piece of shit...

"I'm gonna leave now, kid.. You can do whatever you want, doesn't really matter to me. I'll see you in a bit." Levi said before leaving.

Eren laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a while, trying to keep his mind blank, to keep his thoughts at bay. But, inevitably, he started thinking about that hellhole of a basement. Eren hadn't really thought about what happened to him since he was freed.. He was too busy trying to survive to think about it. But now, he was in a more stable environment, and he had the time and energy to think back on it.

He thought about the man who freed him.. The only reason Eren wasn't locked up there anymore was because of some random man who wanted to get revenge on Kenny by getting rid of his precious pet. Eren squeezed his eyes shut at that thought.

He couldn't help but wonder what Kenny was doing at that moment. Was he looking for Eren..? Probably.. God, what if he found Eren again? He would, most likely. Kenny probably had all sorts of connections, and people looking for Eren... Eren was his favorite toy, after all. Eren winced at his own sickening thoughts.

Really, now that Eren was thinking about it.. It was only a matter of time before Kenny found Eren and brought him back. It seemed inevitable. Kenny would never just let him go.. He wasn't that kind of man. He would do anything to get his property back. As long as Kenny was alive, Eren would be in danger. Eren whimpered at the realization. He'd just have to stay in the apartment as much as possible.. He'd need to lay low. Eren hated this. He felt so unsafe and scared and absolutely trapped by Kenny.. Eren hated him so fucking much. Kenny made Eren feel so pathetic and filthy. Eren really felt like he belonged to the man, and it was an awful sensation. Eren was completely controlled and owned by Kenny, and he felt so helpless in his own skin.

Even though Eren wasn't locked up in that basement anymore, he was still obeying Kenny. He couldn't speak unless Kenny gave him permission.. That was the man's first rule, and Eren knew not to break it. Eren wondered if he would ever be able to speak of his own free will again.

Eren sighed and stood up, walking to the window. He pushed the curtain back and looked out at the sky, mind wandering. If he ever got to talk to Armin and Mikasa again.. Would he be able to tell them about Kenny? How could he? Eren had been through awful physical and psychological torture. How the hell could he ever tell someone about the trauma he'd experienced? How could he ever move on from it? How could he ever forget about the pain? How could he ever get rid of that dirty, disgusting feeling crawling beneath his skin from all the times Kenny violated him? How could he ever forget those rough hands?

Eren felt hopeless. Kenny was definitely after him.. He'd find Eren. He'd hurt him again. He'd lock him up and control every bit of him, isolating him from the outside world. Eren felt so much anger and helplessness.. There was nothing he could do to protect himself. If Kenny wanted Eren, Kenny would have him. Eren slid down the wall and covered his face with his hands, imagining Kenny stealing him away from the apartment. He'd sneak in through the window and wake Eren up with a syringe buried in his neck.. He'd bite Eren's jaw and murmur against his skin that Eren was his, and only his. He'd pick Eren up and slip out the window with his prize in his arms, unable to fight back. Kenny would take Eren back to his hell, lock his wrists and ankles to the bed, and devour his prey until Eren didn't have the mental capacity to count anymore.

A scared whine left Eren's throat at the terrifying thought. He struggled to breathe, body trembling, every worst case scenario popping up in his head. He was so fucking scared.. Eren never, ever, _ever_ wanted to go back there. He hugged his knees to his chest, burying his face in them, terror taking over him. He sobbed against his knees for a long time, flinching occasionally, feeling like Kenny was breathing in his ear, biting his neck, touching his hips.. But Eren calmed down after awhile. He took deep, ragged breaths, laying his head back against the wall, feeling numb. Once he had regained control of his breathing, he heard the front door open. A new wave of terror crashed over him, thinking it was Kenny, but then he glanced up and saw that it was just Levi. Levi put his grocery bags down on the kitchen counter, then turned around and noticed Eren on the floor.

His expression immediately softened and he walked over to Eren.

"Hey, kid, are you okay..?" He asked, kneeling down next to Eren.

Eren shrugged, wiping off his tears, a little embarrassed. His sense of shame had been mostly destroyed by Kenny, but he was still slightly embarrassed to have Levi see him be so weak.

'I'm sorry.' Eren signed, avoiding Levi's gaze.

"No need to apologize, kid. Here, let me help you." Levi said, standing up. He reached his hands out to Eren.

Eren looked up at him with glassy eyes, then grabbed his soft hands and stood with him.

"I'm gonna make some food and put on a movie, okay, kid?"

Eren nodded a little. He pointed at himself and did the sign for 'help.'

"You want to help me cook?"

Eren nodded again.

"Sure. Do you like lasagna?"

Eren nodded.

"Sweet. Let's go to the kitchen, then."

It took them awhile to make the lasagna. Levi didn't look at a recipe for reference at all.. He seemed to be pretty good at cooking. He led Eren through the whole process, since he knew absolutely nothing about cooking. It was a nice, relaxing distraction from Eren's mind. While they were cooking, Levi talked about work, telling Eren stories about customers he had. They talked about their favorite movies and books.. It was nice small talk, and Eren treasured it. He hadn't talked to anyone like that since Kenny locked him up, and it really was amazing. Eren felt much safer now that Levi was there with him. He wasn't sure why.. But he felt as if Levi could protect him from Kenny. He wasn't as afraid with Levi by his side.

Once the lasagna was done, they put it on plates and sat down on the couch to watch a movie. The food was delicious and the movie was pretty good.. Eren felt blissfully comfortable. All his fears and terrors from earlier slipped away for the moment, and he was beyond grateful.

They watched another movie afterwards, and then it was time for Levi to go to work.

'Can I come with you?' Eren wrote on his notepad, but hesitated to give it to Levi in fear of what he would say.

"What is it, Eren?" Levi asked, seeing the nervousness on his face.

Eren handed the notepad to him.

"Oh, you want to? Sure, come along. You can either sit at the bar or in the break room, whatever you want to do.. And I can come talk to you on my break."

Eren felt so relieved that Levi wasn't weirded out by that.. Eren really didn't want to be alone in the apartment that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed that chapterrr, i'd love to hear any thoughts that you have !!!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a shorter chapter, but hEre's some restaurant interactions woooo

Levi took a shower and changed into work clothes, then they went on their way. Levi told Eren that the restaurant could get really busy sometimes, especially during the hours that Levi worked.. he hoped it wouldn't get too busy, for Eren's sake. When they arrived, Levi brought Eren over to the bar and told Petra, the bartender, to bring him a glass of water. Levi took over Isabel's tables since her shift ended, and began working. He kept shooting looks at Eren during his shift to make sure the kid was okay. Eren sat there and sipped his water, watching the TV, observing the people, and listening to Petra talk. He looked much calmer and more comfortable than earlier, when he was sitting on the floor.. Levi was pretty sure the kid had been recovering from an anxiety attack when he walked in. The kid had looked terrified, his beautiful eyes wide with fear, tears streaming down his face, holding his knees tightly for comfort. Levi's heart broke a little when he saw the kid like that. Levi was glad that the kid decided to go to work with him. He didn't know if he'd be able to focus without knowing if Eren was alright.

Eventually, Levi went on his break. He pulled Eren away from the bar to sit with him at one of the booths, so they could talk by themselves. It wasn't too crowded, so he didn't see the need to go to the break room.

"How're you doing, kid?" Levi asked him.

'I'm good. Petra is really nice.' Eren signed, and Levi couldn't help but smile at the sign language.

"That's good. Yeah, Petra is very sweet." Levi replied. "Do you wanna try and learn more sign language?"

Eren nodded excitedly, and Levi smiled a little wider.

He taught Eren as much more as he could before he had to go back to work. Eren returned to the bar, and Hanji tackled Levi in a surprise hug.

"Ohhhh my GOODNESS~! You two are so _cuuuute~!_ " She exclaimed, practically oozing happiness.

"Tch.. Get the fuck off me, shitty glasses." Levi grumbled, his voice gruff with irritation.

"Levi, I've never seen you be so nice before! I knew there was some warmth in that ice cold heart of yours." Hanji said. "Really, it's like you're a different person around that little cutie. None of your usual disinterested expressions. You look so genuinely happy with him- I actually saw you smile earlier!"

Levi huffed, pushing her off of him.

"Shut up. It's not that much of a change." He mumbled.

"It's such a big change! Your little grinch heart grew three times because of that boy! You better keep him, Levi, he has such a good effect on you." Hanji gushed. "I'm gonna go say hi to him! See ya, shorty!"

She disappeared as quick as lightning, rushing over to Eren. She put a hand on his shoulder, and Levi saw the kid violently flinch away from her, panic in his eyes. After a few moments, he calmed down, and Hanji sat down next to him to talk.

Levi groaned a little but turned his back on them, not wanting to know whatever Hanji was telling the kid.  
  
While he was working, he couldn't help but think about Hanji's words. Although they were annoying, they really weren't wrong. Levi really wasn't a nice person to most people.. he was a bit of an asshole, really, and he usually wasn't interested in anyone else. But Eren was different. He wasn't the same as all the other people that Levi brushed off.. Levi really enjoyed his company. He hadn't experienced such close companionship before, and it felt nice to have someone around for a change. Levi never really trusted or liked anyone. He liked Erwin and Hanji, but that was it.. until Eren. The kid was an exception somehow. He seemed extremely likable and trustworthy, and Levi legitimately enjoyed being around him.

If Eren really was changing Levi, he didn't mind it. Eren was giving Levi the genuine happiness that he hadn't felt since he was a little kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading! i promise the next chapter is longer


	7. Chapter 7

Eren was feeling pretty good. He had a conversation with the nice bartender lady, Petra, and then Levi taught him more sign language on his break. Then, all of a sudden, Eren felt a strong hand on his shoulder and he flinched away. He saw a woman standing there, but he didn't relax.. what if it was someone working for Kenny?

"Woah, you okay, cutie?" She said, going from overly excited to calm and serious very fast. "I'm Levi's friend, Hanji, I just thought I'd say hi."

Eren blinked at her and nodded, relaxing again.

"Okay, good! What's your name, cutie?" She questioned, going back to being all bubbly and excited. She plopped down in the seat next to him and looked at him expectantly.

He grabbed his notepad and wrote down his name for her.

"Eren? That's a pretty name. Just like you! You have the brightest eyes I've ever seen, oh my goodness..!" She exclaimed, leaning in too close for comfort.

Eren leaned back, confused and embarrassed.

"Oi, Hanji, leave the kid alone." Levi grumbled as he passed by.

"Yeah, tone it down a little, Hanji. Don't scare the poor thing." Petra added, giving Eren a look that seemed to say 'good luck.'

Hanji sighed dramatically.

"Fine, fine. So you're living with Levi, huh?? How is that?" She pressed.

'Um, it's good? He's really nice to me.' Eren wrote down.

"Awwww!!! Here's a little secret, Eren- Levi is never this nice to anyone! You must be reaaaaally special. He's one of my closest friends, and he's never that nice to me. Honestly, I've never seen him be genuinely kind to someone until you came along. He's gotten the most complaints out of any of the servers here for being such a grouch!" Hanji told him.

Eren didn't really doubt that. Levi was very good to him, but Eren had been watching the man interact with coworkers and customers for a few hours.. and he didn't seem very sociable with them at all. He had a crease on his forehead and his eyebrows were always furrowed, making him seem years older. He had a constant, sour look of disinterest on his face. Levi seemed like he was pissed at everything.. it was almost scary.

But whenever he had walked over to Eren for his break, the cold expression melted away and he seemed much more relaxed. Eren was confused by the drastic change, but he was glad that Levi felt comfortable around him.

Hanji talked to Eren about Levi for awhile, telling as many ridiculous stories as she could, until her boss caught her slacking off and made her get back to work. It was Erwin from the other day.. he made Eren nervous, for some reason. He was older and strong, and he had the same kind of hands as Kenny. That type of tough guy just scared Eren.

"Hey there, Eren." Erwin said. "You waiting for Levi to finish up?"

Eren nodded a little, avoiding his eyes.

"Gotcha.. I'll see you later." Erwin said, increasing the awkwardness before he walked away.

After a little while, Levi finished his shift. He walked over to Eren, and his grumpy expression faded into a calm one.

"Ready to go?" He asked, and Eren nodded.

Eren waved goodbye to Petra and Hanji before departing with Levi by his side.

"I hope Hanji didn't scare you too bad. She's a little wild, but I swear she has good intentions." Levi told him.

They made small talk about the last few hours, and they both decided to go to bed soon after they got to the apartment. They both took turns in the shower, then headed to bed, saying goodnight to one another beforehand. Eren couldn't help himself from pulling Levi's coat back on over his pajamas.

Eren stayed awake for about an hour after he laid down.. he kept thinking about the possibility of Kenny walking into Wings of Freedom and seeing Eren there. He eventually pushed the thought out of his head and fell into sleep.

\---

_Eren woke up inside of his tiny, iron cage, wrists cuffed to the bars on the top of the cage. His bare body felt freezing on the cold basement floor. The cage was about as small as a dog's, and Eren couldn't fully straighten his legs while he was in it. His body was bleeding and aching horribly from the punishments of the previous day. He had been in the basement for about three months, and he lost count of the days that had passed. 85? 87? 90? 94? He wasn't sure. He heard those ominous, heavy footsteps pounding on the stairs as Kenny walked down them, and he closed his eyes, pretending like he was still asleep, not wanting to face his captor._

_Kenny finally reached the basement, and he slowly stepped closer to Eren. The teen's breath hitched once the footsteps stopped, and terror crashed over him in waves._

_"Are you awake, Eren~?" Kenny asked in a teasing voice, making Eren shiver slightly. Eren stayed still, praying that he could disappear._

_"You're lying to me, pet. I know you're awake." Kenny whispered in his rough voice, making nausea roll through Eren's stomach._

_Eren was so scared. He missed his friends. He didn't know how much longer he could take this.._

_Suddenly, Kenny kicked the cage, making the bars rattle loudly, startling Eren into opening his eyes._

_"Look at me, Eren." Kenny murmured._

_Eren hesitantly obeyed, biting his lip in fear when he saw the malice in Kenny's cold, hard eyes._

_"You're a bad boy, Eren. Ignoring me like that.. Tsk, tsk. I think you need to learn a lesson from your master, hm, little pet?"_

_Eren's eyes filled with tears._

_"Please, don't--"_

_Kenny kicked the cage again, harder that time._

_"DID I SAY YOU COULD SPEAK?!" He boomed threateningly, towering over Eren._

_Eren curled up protectively, his heart pounding so fast he thought he was going to die._

_He shook his head quickly, tears spilling down his face._

_"You're such a bad, bad boy.. What do you think that means, pet?" Kenny growled, crouching down, his face inches from the bars, staring Eren down._

_"P...punishment." Eren whimpered._

_Kenny smirked._

_"That's right. Now, don't fight me, or it'll be much worse."_

_The older man pulled keys out of his pocket, unlocking the cage and the handcuffs. He threw Eren on the bloodstained bed near his cage._

_"Lay on your stomach." Kenny ordered. Eren turned himself over on his stomach and laid there, still, knowing he wouldn't be able to escape if he tried._

_Kenny cuffed Eren's wrists and ankles tightly to the corners of the bed, leaving him completely spread out and exposed for his captor. Eren buried his face into the pillow, squeezing his eyes shut when he heard Kenny unzipping his pants._

_"You've been a very, very bad boy, Eren.. I think it's time to put my pet in its place." Kenny whispered, crawling onto the bed and positioning himself behind the restrained teen, gripping his hips._

_"Scream for me." Kenny demanded in a rough voice as he forced himself into Eren without any preparation._

\---

Eren woke up with a loud, pained scream, thrashing against an invisible Kenny. His body was covered in cold sweat, panic and nausea overwhelming him. He leaned over the side of the bed and vomited, shaking violently. He gripped the side of the bed tightly as he retched. He heard footsteps.. Lighter than Kenny's. The light flicked on, and the footsteps rushed to his side.

"It's okay, Eren, just let it out.." Levi soothed, sitting next to Eren, putting a hand on his back and rubbing it.

Eren dry heaved for a few more minutes, and sobs wracked his body once he finished. Loud, ugly sobs tore through him, and he couldn't stop himself from pressing his face against Levi's shoulder. Levi didn't push him away or hesitate.. he immediately wrapped his arms around Eren and pulled him in closer. Eren didn't even mind the physical contact. He was too far gone to care. He held onto Levi for dear life and cried his heart out, thinking about everything Kenny did to him. Eren felt like he was breaking into pieces, falling apart completely on Levi. Levi gently rubbed his back while he cried, murmuring comforts against his forehead.

"Just let it out, kid.. It's all going to be okay. I'm here. It's alright. You'll be okay." Levi whispered, holding Eren against him.

Eren just sobbed harder. He poured his heart out against Levi for about an hour, unable to control the sudden onslaught of emotions. He eventually stopped crying, and just breathed raggedly against Levi, listening to his calming words. Once Eren could breathe, he reluctantly pulled away from Levi and wiped the tears and snot from his face.

"I'll be right back." Levi said reassuringly, and left for a moment. Eren leaned his head back against the wall and took a few deep breaths.

Levi returned with a box of tissues, paper towels, a bottle of water, and a bowl of something Eren couldn't really see.

"Do you like ice cream, kid?" Levi questioned.

Eren nodded a little, confused.

"Then here."

He handed Eren the bowl, which turned out to be full of cookie dough ice cream. He set the water and tissues down next to Eren, then kneeled by the bed and started cleaning up the puke on the floor with the paper towels.

Eren immediately shook his head and an alarmed noise left his throat. Levi glanced up at him, and Eren shook his head violently, pointing at himself instead.

"No, Eren. Please, just sit there and relax. You must be completely emotionally exhausted after all that.. let yourself calm down, okay? I don't mind." Levi said, sounding stubborn and fierce.

Eren blinked at him and almost protested, but then he saw the look in Levi's eyes. His eyes were cold and stern, almost daring Eren to refuse. They reminded him of Kenny's.. Eren was too scared to disobey Levi when his eyes were like that. Eren swallowed hard and relaxed against the wall, glancing away. He ate his ice cream in silence, trying to stay calm. Levi threw away the paper towels and wiped down the floor. Eren's head was throbbing from crying so much, and his throat ached from vomiting.. the ice cream was a blessing. Eren blew his nose and drank the whole water bottle, feeling much better afterwards. Levi sat down next to him again.

"Are you feeling okay now?" He asked, and his eyes were full of genuine worry and care again.

Eren nodded.

'Yes. Thank you.' Eren signed, meaning it with all of his heart.

"Are you going back to sleep?"

Eren nodded again.

"Okay.. I hope you sleep well, kid. Come get me if you need anything." Levi said, smiling gently at him before leaving.

Eren was too numb to think about anything that just happened.. he laid down and fell asleep almost immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for readingggg, id love to hear any comments u have !!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's another chapter !! it was originally 2 chapters but I thought the first one was too short, so yeah. have some happy Levi/Eren interactions!

The next day was about the same as the previous one. Levi and Eren woke up late, ate together, talked, watched movies, and went to the restaurant for Levi to work. Eren learned some more sign language, and more information about Levi. He kept Levi's coat on all day, as usual. Hanji commented on it at the restaurant, making Eren blush a bit.

When they went back to the apartment after a busy night at the restaurant, they both showered and headed to bed. Eren laid down, but he couldn't fall asleep. He really, really didn't want to have another nightmare.. the last few were awful enough. It was even worse, since the nightmares were replays of what Eren had really gone through. The reminders of the awful experiences were overwhelming, and Eren never wanted to go through it again. There was a tiny bookshelf in Levi's room, with lots of books stacked neatly.. Eren decided to grab some and read them during the night. After he got through two books, he couldn't read the words on the page very well anymore. He put the books back, turned the light off, and laid down in the bed. He stared at the ceiling with dull eyes, his heavy eyelids threatening to close. Eren refused to fall asleep, though. He'd rather become an insomniac than have to see Kenny in his dreams again. Eren couldn't help but think about one week with Kenny, when the man told him that he'd be punished if he fell asleep at all that week.. he put a camera in the basement to make sure that Eren obeyed. Eren was incredibly exhausted, and he only lasted three days before he nodded off. Kenny beat him with his belt for hours as punishment.. Eren's body ached at the memory, and he exhaled heavily, not wanting to think about it. Eren stared at the ceiling with a wandering mind for about an hour before Levi walked in.

Eren's eyes flickered over to him, not bothering to lie about his sleep deprivation. Levi stepped closer to him, and realized that he was awake.

"Hey, kid, how long have you been awake?" He questioned.

Eren closed his eyes.

'No sleep.' He finger-spelled, his hand moving slower than he wanted it to.

"You... didn't get _any_ sleep?" Levi asked, astonished.

Eren shook his head slowly.

"Why no--? Oh... nightmares?"

Eren nodded a tiny bit, not really having the energy to do a full nod.

"Shit.. I'm really sorry, kid." Levi murmured, and silence fell between them.

"Do you like tea, Eren?"

Eren forced his bleary eyes open to look at Levi, and shrugged.

'I don't know.' He signed tiredly.

"Hm.. I think I'll make some. It's a really good soothing drink- I make it whenever I have trouble falling asleep or whenever I had a stressful day. It's very calming.. Maybe it can help." Levi stated. "Stay here. I'll bring it to you when it's ready, okay?"

'Thank you.' Eren signed, letting his eyelids droop shut again.

He fought to stay conscious for a while until Levi returned.. He had a plate of French toast and a mug full of tea, and he gave them both to Eren.

"Please try not to spill it on the bed, kid." Levi told him.

Eren stared at him in awe, and thanked him repeatedly.

"No problem." Levi replied.

After a few minutes of Eren eating, Levi spoke again.

"Hey, kid.. Would you be okay with taking a nap on the couch if I'm there? I could watch over you, and wake you up if a nightmare starts. going without sleep is awful, so..." Levi offered.

Eren stared at him for a few moments before nodding a little bit.

_Why the hell is he so nice to me..? What did I do to deserve this kindness?_

Eren didn't understand the kind actions, but he decided not to question them too much. He was just grateful he wasn't dying on the street.

Once Eren finished his food and drank all his tea, he went into the living room and laid down on the couch like Levi had requested. Levi sat on the chair near him and turned the TV on. He put on a movie, but made sure it was quiet enough so that Eren could fall asleep.

Eren bit his lip nervously, thinking about what would happen if he fell asleep.. Levi immediately picked up on his fears.

"Try not to worry too much, Eren. I won't let anything hurt you." Levi told him, sounding so certain that Eren couldn't even try to doubt him. Something about those words was extremely reassuring.. Eren felt safe again. He closed his eyes, and soon enough, sleep took over him.

Eren woke up much later to Levi standing near him with care in his eyes.

"Hey there, Eren. It's almost time for me to go to work.. do you want to join me?" Levi asked gently.

Eren blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes and nodded slightly.

"You've been sleeping for about six hours.. did you have good dreams?" Levi questioned.

Eren slowly sat up and reached for his notepad.

'I didn't have any dreams.. thank you for watching over me. I really appreciate it.' He wrote, and stretched while Levi was reading it.

"I'm glad... and you're welcome, kid. Now c'mon, or I'll be late." Levi said.

Eren got up and ran his hand through his hair before leaving, not caring too much about his shitty outfit. He was used to wearing no clothes at all, so he barely even noticed his outfits.

They went to the restaurant together as usual, and Eren felt much better after sleeping. Levi and him ate burgers and fries during Levi's break, since they never ate dinner.. Levi taught him more sign language and chatted with him about random things again. It was nice. Peaceful.

When they went to bed that night, Eren worried about nightmares again.. But then he remembered Levi's words.

_Try not to worry too much, Eren. I won't let anything hurt you._

Eren felt better after thinking about that. Levi could keep him safe.. Levi could help him. He fell asleep to thoughts of tea and pine needles.

\---

Two weeks passed. They passed faster than Eren expected.. time seemed to fly in that little apartment. Eren had nightmares and anxiety attacks almost every night, but Levi would always calm him down and make him feel okay again. Eren never let Levi's coat go. He reluctantly let Levi wash it, but besides that, he refused to be separated from the thing. It was his source of comfort.. he felt pretty vulnerable without it on.

The day after Eren stayed up all night, Levi offered to do yoga with him. He told Eren that it was a good stress reliever, and helped ward off nightmares. So they did yoga together daily. Levi played relaxing music on his phone and they spent an hour or two doing yoga and relaxing, ridding themselves of all their stress. Although the yoga didn't really prevent the nightmares, it was a nice activity, and Eren found himself getting excited for it each day.

Levi taught Eren how to cook more things, and he taught him many more words in sign language. Eren joined Levi at work every day, and Levi would spend his entire break with the teen. Levi and Eren had a great relationship. Levi was Eren's anchor- he would always soothe Eren out of his anxiety attacks, and he could calm Eren down so easily, it was like he was born to do it. Eren was great company for Levi, and Levi found himself smiling more and more every day. Once, Levi was telling funny stories about his job, and Eren genuinely laughed for the first time in over a year.

Eren wasn't healing or recovering from Kenny at all, though. He pushed all thoughts of the man to the corner of his mind and refused to deal with his trauma.. he was in denial of what happened. He was constantly distracting himself in one way or another. When Eren was doing things, he sometimes found himself feeling overwhelmingly depressed, or emotionally vacant. He had trouble feeling joy doing anything.. he only felt happy occasionally when he was talking to Levi. Eren felt anxious about Kenny almost constantly, paranoid that the man was going to find and kidnap him again. Eren had trouble concentrating a lot of the time, his mind always wandering back to that basement. Eren felt so helpless and filthy, but he didn't know what to do about it. He suffered in silence, lying and telling Levi he was fine whenever the man asked.

He refused to tell Levi much about his past or his personal life. Eren told Levi about the death of his parents in the car accident, but that was the most personal thing he had told the French man. Levi told Eren about the death of his parents as well.. he shared more than Eren had, telling the teen about his parents' divorce, his mother's drug problem, and how they died of lung cancer and a heart attack. Levi was keeping some information private, too, though.

Overall, Eren was surviving. He wished he could feel happier, but he was so overloaded by his traumatic past that he couldn't feel much other than fear and hopelessness. Eren just prayed that his bad feelings would go away on their own. Some part of him knew that it would've been good for him to tell someone about what had happened to him, but he doubted he would ever be able to do so.

Eren woke up from a blissfully dreamless sleep, actually feeling pretty well rested. He let out a little groan as he pushed open his eyes. He noticed Levi standing near him.. holding something in his hands. It was a plate of breakfast. Waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, and strawberries, with a mug of tea on the side.

Eren stared at the food with wide eyes, unsure of why Levi had put together something so special for him.

" _Bon anniversaire_ , Eren. Happy birthday." Levi said, his voice soft, a tiny smile on his face.

Eren gaped at him, his jaw dramatically hanging open.

'You remembered!' Eren signed, completely shocked and blown away. Eren had told Levi his birthday over a week ago.. he didn't think Levi would remember. Hell, Eren himself didn't even remember!

"Of course, kid. I'm not that much of an asshole." Levi stated, and handed Eren the plate of breakfast.

Eren couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face at the wonderful gesture.

'Thank you so much.' He signed.

"No problem, kid. It's just breakfast. I got you more than just that.. I'll show you once you finish." Levi told him.

Eren's eyes widened.

'More?' He signed, puzzled. 'Why?'

Levi shrugged.

"Why not? Erwin recently gave me a bigger paycheck than usual so I could provide more for both of us, so I thought this would be a good time to spend it. I have nothing else to buy with it anyways.. you really haven't put financial strain on me."

'Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.' Eren signed, making Levi chuckle.

"It's no problem, Eren. Go ahead and eat." Levi stated. Eren did as he said, listening to Levi talk while he ate.

"I took today off of work, by the way." Levi told him.

'What? Why?' Eren signed.

"Because it's your birthday! I need time for one of the gifts, plus I could use a break." Levi replied.

Eren decided not to question the first part of that statement. He ate his delicious food as fast as he could while still savoring the taste, then looked up to Levi expectantly.

Levi chuckled at him.

"You look like a little kid at Christmas. I've never seen you so excited before."

'Sorry.. it's just that I haven't gotten a real gift for my birthday since I was young.' Eren confessed on his notepad.

"Ah.. got it. Well, now you're going to have gifts, so I hope you like them." Levi told him matter-of-factly. "Come to the living room and I'll get your other gifts."

Eren followed the man into the living room and sat on the couch, waiting patiently for whatever Levi was going to bring him. Levi left for a moment, and returned with two boxes. One was bigger than the other.. Levi handed him the smaller one first.

Eren gratefully took the box, and carefully opened it. Something was wrapped up in tissue paper inside of it.. Eren unwrapped it to find a golden key on a brown, leather cord. Eren held the cool metal in his hand, looking over the key in astonishment.

"It's a key to the apartment. I figured, since you're living here, you should have your own key.. and I put it on the cord so you won't lose it." Levi explained.

Eren glanced up at him and smiled a little, holding the key to his heart.

'Thank you. It's beautiful.' He signed. He immediately put the key around his neck, liking the way the weight of the metal felt on his chest. He thanked Levi again. Eren picked up the other box, to find something bigger but lighter wrapped up in tissue paper. Eren cautiously removed the paper to find a gorgeous, intricately designed dreamcatcher with green and blue feathers and beads. Eren admired it breathlessly.. it was so beautiful.

"I thought you could use something to help protect you from nightmares.. if you hang it above your bed, it's supposed to give you good dreams. Might not work, but I thought I'd give it a shot." Levi told him.

Eren looked back up to Levi with tears in his eyes.

'Thank you so much.' Eren signed with shaky hands. He thanked him profusely, overwhelmed by Levi's generosity.

"It's really no problem, kid. I'm glad you like it." Levi said, grinning a little at Eren's happiness.

"I have two more surprises for you, but these involve going places, if you're okay with that."

Eren gave him a puzzled look.

"Would you be okay with going shopping with me? We'd take a cab everywhere.. but I thought you could use some new clothes. I wanted to get you clothes earlier, but I haven't really had the chance until now." Levi explained.

Eren's eyes widened.

'Really?' Eren signed.

"Yeah. Only if you're comfortable with going, though." Levi responded.

After a few moments of considering it, Eren nodded a little bit.

"Sweet. Would you be okay with going now?"

'I want to shower first.' Eren signed.

"Yeah, go ahead."

'Thank you. Thank you so much for all of this.' Eren signed, still in disbelief.

"You're welcome, kid."

Thirty minutes later, Eren and Levi were in a taxi on their way to a mall.

Eren couldn't pry his eyes away from the window the whole time.. He'd never really seen New York City before, so he was taking it all in for the first time. Eren was pretty nervous to be out in public for the first time since he was kidnapped, but he decided to put on a brave face and do his best. He was nervous about the possibility of Kenny, too.. but he forced the thought away. This was supposed to be a fun trip with Levi for his birthday... Eren didn't want to spoil it with thoughts of the past.

After about fifteen minutes of driving, they arrived at the mall. They went around and shopped at a few different stores.. Eren tried on dozens and dozens of outfits. It was a bit exhausting, but definitely worth it. Levi bought him about ten different outfits, socks, underwear, and two pairs of shoes. Eren's jaw dropped when he saw the final price of all of the clothes, but Levi didn't seem to mind the cost at all. When Eren questioned it, Levi shrugged and simply said, "It's your birthday." And that was that.

Once they finished shopping, Levi spoke again.

"I only have one more gift for you." He said, sounding a bit apologetic, but Eren was just shocked that there was another gift coming.

"If you have the energy, I want to take you to Times Square and to Central Park. You mentioned that you've never really seen much of New York.. I might not be taking you to the Statue of Liberty or something, but I thought you should at least see a few famous places."

Eren was stunned. He had no idea what to reply with, so he just nodded.

They got in another cab and dropped their bags off at the apartment, then went to Times Square. Once they got there, Eren's face was almost pressed against the window from how engrossed he was in the world outside. There were so many people and giant buildings..! Eren could barely begin to fathom it. They got out of the car and walked around for two hours. They ate a hot dog from the street vendors as a snack, because Eren wanted to.. and Eren made Levi take selfies with him everywhere, taking advantage of Levi's phone. They went in about a dozen different stores and places.. they had to brush off many people on the sidewalk that tried to sell them things. Every time they passed a homeless person, Levi stopped to talk to them. If the person seemed mentally stable enough to have a conversation, they talked for a little while, and Levi ended up giving them about $10. There were two people that had some obvious mental issues, and one that didn't talk.. just like Eren. Levi gave those people $20. They passed five different homeless people, and one of them was a deaf girl who was around Eren's age. Levi had a long conversation with her in sign language and she started crying.. then Levi gave her $30. Eren was a bit overwhelmed every time Levi gave anyone money.. he was so glad to have someone as kind as Levi by his side.

After Eren and Levi had their fill of Times Square, they ate New York pizza and cheesecake in a cute little restaurant. Eren thought the food was absolutely delicious. Levi wasn't as ecstatic about it, but he smiled at Eren's childish reactions.

After they ate, they got into another taxi and went to Central Park. Eren was absolutely worn out by the time they got there, but he kept trudging through his exhaustion. His legs ached and his head was throbbing, but he refused to waste such a wonderful opportunity. They made small talk as they went around Central Park.. they only walked for about fifteen minutes before they spotted a playground. They went over to it and sat down on the swings. They were both extremely tired, but pretty happy. Eren hadn't been that happy in awhile. He kept having creeping, lingering thoughts of Kenny in the back of his mind, and he wasn't as happy as he wished he could be.. but he still had an incredible time.

They sat on the swings for awhile, chatting about little things as they watched the sun go down.

Eren looked up at the vast sky, and suddenly thought about his parents, and if they were doing okay. He pulled the notepad and pen out of his coat.

'Do you believe in an afterlife?' He wrote down, and passed the notepad to Levi.

"Hm.. That's a sudden question. I don't know, kid. I don't really believe in one, but.. It's possible." Levi stated. "To me, whatever we do in this life is what matters. This is all we've got."

Eren contemplated that as he admired the sunset.. The sky was a beautiful swirling combination of pink and orange.

"What do you think, Eren?" Levi questioned, handing the notepad back.

'I'd like to think there is one. Maybe not some kind of heaven with God and constant happiness.. but some continuation of life. That thought gives me hope. I really wish that there's more than just this shitty world. I just hate the thought that this is all we have. I understand why people think that, but it makes me feel hopeless. Plus, I hate imagining that my parents are completely gone. No.. I think they're living on somewhere. Somehow.' Eren wrote, taking awhile to get everything down.

Levi nodded a little once he finished reading that.

"Yeah.. That's a better way to think of it. A more optimistic way. I kind of wish I had the same mindset, but I just can't think of it the same way."

Eren took his notepad back.

'But what about your parents? Do you feel like they're just nothing now?' He wrote.

"Honestly? Yeah, I do. My parents.. They never paid me much attention when I was a child. They were too focused on other materialistic things.. we were never very close. When they divorced when I was six, my mother only took custody because my father didn't want me. Have I ever told you why I moved here?" Levi confessed.

Eren shook his head.

"I told you about my mother's drug addiction, yes?"

Eren nodded.

"Well.. It started because of the divorce, and it only got worse and worse. We lost all our money, since my father was the main source of income in the family, and my mother was spending all of her money on her drugs. We were poor and barely managing to live in a home.. my mother never managed to pay the bills. She couldn't support the both of us, so she threw me at my shitty uncle and let him deal with me instead. He moved us here when I was ten to support his career or some shit, and we lived in a pathetic little apartment. The only reason I had to come here was because of my parents.. and my life here was shitty for awhile. This sounds horrible, but I honestly don't care at all if my parents live in an afterlife or not. They never really cared for me, so.. I see no reason to care for them." Levi admitted, opening up and telling Eren all about his past.

'I'm sorry you had such a bad relationship with them.' Eren wrote.

Levi shrugged.

"It sucks, but it's in the past now.. So it doesn't matter too much to me. I'm sorry for rambling so much about this."

'It's okay, Levi. Do you mind if I ask why life was so bad for you here?'

Levi winced.

"Eh.. I really don't like talking about it, but I can share a few details. My uncle was even more neglectful than my parents.. he was always working and doing shit in his room, so I rarely ever saw him. I had to fight people at school for money and food, since he never really provided anything for me.. and speaking of school, I went to a really awful school in a bad part of the city. There wasn't a lot of adult supervision, and we were constantly getting into fights." Levi replied. "I'm.. not really comfortable sharing why, but.. I ended up getting in a physical fight with my uncle. I knocked him out, grabbed all his money, and ran away when I was sixteen. That's when I was homeless for awhile.. I had to fight and steal to survive. It was a shitty way to live, but I had no other alternative."

'I'm so sorry, Levi.' Eren signed. He was listening to Levi's story intently, glad that he was hearing about the man's past.

'How did you end up in an apartment?' Eren wrote.

"Ah, that's all because of Erwin." Levi answered. "I tried to pickpocket him.. I had gotten very good at stealing, but Erwin used to be a cop, and he was better. He immediately blocked me and put me into a headlock, before I even knew what was happening. He was amazing. I was yelling and hitting him, trying to get him to let me go, but he dragged me over to Wings of Freedom. He threw me into the break room and practically forced me to become a server there. He told me that if I didn't join, he'd call the cops and have me arrested. I had no other option, so.. I joined. Erwin gave me a shit ton of money when I first started working there, so that I could get an apartment and feed myself. I was stubborn and didn't want to be his charity case, but I just kinda gave in after awhile. I could probably leave the restaurant now if I wanted, but it's become a second home to me. I worked there for eight years and finished high school, and, well.. here I am today."

'I wish I was as strong as you are.. How do you still have your head held high after all that?' Eren wrote. He was so pathetic and destroyed after what he went through.. he didn't understand how Levi could go through life so nonchalantly after his struggles.

Levi shook his head.

"I'm not really strong, kid. I don't have my head held high. I just... Live. It's nothing special. Other people have been through much worse than I have." He replied.

'True.. But still.' Eren wrote.

"Can I ask you something, Eren? You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but.. After I just spilled my whole life story, I thought you should be able to explain some of yours." Levi stated.

Eren looked up at the stars, swinging slightly.

He nodded a bit, but knew he probably wouldn't answer whatever Levi asked.

"I can't help but ask.. Why don't you talk, kid? You speak a bit during your nightmares, so I know that you can.. if that question's too personal, you don't have to answer it, but I can't help but wonder." Levi questioned.

Eren swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut tighter, fingers gripping the sides of his swing. He could almost feel Kenny's hot breath against his ear.

_Don't talk, Eren. Don't you ever speak unless I tell you to. You're mine, Eren, all mine. If you speak without my permission again, the punishment will be very severe. Do you understand me, Eren?_

Eren shook his head a bit more aggressively than he meant to.

"Is that too personal?" Levi asked, sounding apologetic.

Eren nodded just as aggressively.

"I'm very sorry.. I don't mean to pry.. I want to respect your privacy, Eren." Levi apologized, seemingly regretful. "That being said.. after I spilled all that about myself, is there anything you want to get off your chest?"

Eren felt his stomach do backflips. There was so much shit that he'd love to get off his chest.. Eren wanted nothing more than to explode, yelling about all the terrible shit he had gone through, screaming about Kenny and everything he was feeling. Maybe he'd feel better if he let it out.. maybe the weight on his shoulders and the filthy feeling underneath his skin would disappear. Maybe he would feel okay again.

But Eren pushed down the urge, kept his mouth obediently shut, and shook his head slightly.

Eren imagined Kenny letting out a low chuckle.

_Good boy._

Eren shuddered.

"...Ah. I understand, kid." Levi said after a moment, but Eren could hear the disappointment seeping into his voice. Eren would be disappointed too, if the roles were switched.. Levi just poured his heart out to Eren, and expected a similar heartfelt response.. but Eren stayed silent, leaving Levi alone, hanging there in limbo with his revealed past out in the open. Eren wished he could join Levi and let go of the past like that. He wished he could lift the weight from his shoulders, but it was impossible. Eren was too ashamed, too scared.. Too nervous of what Levi might think. He was too weak. He just couldn't bring himself to do it.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Levi said they should go back to the apartment. They walked to an ice cream shop nearby and got sundaes, then got a taxi to take them back. Although the day ended in a bit of tension and disappointment, it was the best birthday Eren ever had. He fell asleep with the dreamcatcher above his head and happiness in his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry this took so long, ive been distracted lately ;;;; ALSO, extra trigger warning for this chapter!!!!!! it focuses on torture & sexual abuse more than the other chapters. i mostly used this chapter to give you an insight to what all eren went through while he was kidnapped, so this chapter is shown mostly through eren's nightmares, and it's not written very well bc it's mainly for background,,, im sorry about that ;;

_Eren was sprawled out on his back on Kenny's bed, his wrists and ankles cuffed to the corners, leaving his naked body on display for his owner. Kenny gave Eren a malicious smirk before he slipped the blindfold over his eyes and tied it tightly.. Eren couldn't see a thing. He had no idea what Kenny was planning to do to him, and the anticipation and anxiety made his heart race. He bit his lip nervously, not knowing what to expect. Kenny disappeared for several minutes, but eventually returned. His loud footsteps returned to Eren's side._

_"You're such a bad boy, Eren. Biting my hand like that earlier.. what did you think that would accomplish, pet? Don't disobey me again... or this will happen." The man growled, and a sudden strong, white hot, burning sensation attacked his chest, where some liquid was dripping onto him. Eren screamed in pain, writhing violently against his restraints in an attempt to escape._

_"It's wax, pet. It's supposed to be very painful if it's too hot. Don't you think you deserve this?" Kenny murmured, and before Eren knew it, more wax was poured onto his skin.. it landed on his stomach that time, and he screamed again, the liquid burning through his skin, making the flesh sizzle like cooking meat. Eren gripped the handcuffs and thrashed as much as he could, his body desperately trying to get away from the intense pain. Kenny shoved a gag in Eren's mouth to silence his cries._

_"Take it, little pet. Take the punishment you know you deserve." Kenny hissed, dripping the wax onto Eren's inner thigh, tearing a shriek from his throat._

_"Bad, bad boy."_

Eren woke up how he usually did- shaking, sweating, and screaming from the pain he no longer felt. As if on cue, Levi ran into the room and sat with Eren, rubbing his back and soothing him like he usually did.

The dreamcatcher had definitely failed.

He had another nightmare that night..

_Eren was laying limply on his side on Kenny's bed, his wrists cuffed together behind his back, a blindfold covering his eyes. His head was resting on Kenny's lap, and he was as still as a doll. He knew not to fight back. The only thing that would happen if he tried to escape was punishment. He had been there for about a year, and he had learned to obey Kenny's every order. He was sickeningly obedient, but it kept him alive and with as little pain as possible. Kenny was petting his hair with one hand, and tracing Eren's body with the other. His fingertips lightly brushed over Eren's side, making the teen shiver. Kenny ran his rough hand over Eren's legs, his inner thighs, his dick, his stomach, his chest, his back, his ass.. he left no spot untouched. And Eren didn't move in the slightest. He laid there and took the violation, knowing he had no say in it._

_"Every part of you is mine, Eren. Each little inch of your skin belongs to me. Your body, your mind, your soul... it's all mine. I own you. Tell me, Eren."_

_"I belong to you.. I'm yours." Eren whispered without hesitation, a tear slipping past his blindfold._

_"Good boy.. what a good little pet. Now.. get on the ground and open your mouth." Kenny commanded._

_Eren immediately fell to his knees on the floor, sitting up and opening his mouth, wide, his tongue lolling out._

_"Good slut. My good little slut.. you were born only for me. Your only purpose is to please me, to be my precious little pet."_

The next night..

_Kenny slowly and menacingly walked towards Eren's cage. A smirk stretched across his face when he saw that Eren had pissed himself.. Kenny never let him go to the bathroom, so Eren couldn't help it- but it was always unbearably humiliating when it happened. Kenny sighed._

_"Tsk, tsk.. you made a mess, huh, pet? Looks like you need a little bath."_

_Eren curled up and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to brace himself for his 'bath.' Kenny walked away for a moment, and returned with a large bucket. He turned the bucket over onto Eren, pouring gallons of freezing cold ice water onto him. Eren hated it so much when that happened.. Kenny did it daily, and it always made Eren shiver so hard that his teeth chattered._

_"Now.. I've missed my pet. Let me look at you." Kenny stated, crouching close to the cage. Eren uncurled himself from the fetal position, letting Kenny get a good look at his exposed body. Kenny grinned._

_"Gorgeous." He mumbled. "I could use a little stress relief.. behave, Eren." He ordered, unlocking the door and Eren's cuffs. He pulled Eren out and tossed the teen onto his bed like he was an object. Eren immediately laid down on his back and spread his legs and arms to the corners of the bed. He just wanted to get the pain over with._

_Kenny chuckled darkly when he saw that._

_"Already spreading your legs for me.. such a good little whore." Kenny murmured affectionately while he cuffed Eren to the bed._

_"You're the best pet I've ever had, Eren... I've had dozens and dozens of pets, but you're different than all of them. You're my special little pet.. my treasure. I'm never letting you go. You're mine." Kenny told him. He pulled down his pants and underwear and kneeled in between Eren's legs._  
  
Eren closed his eyes and wished that he could be anywhere but in that fucking basement. Anywhere but underneath that man.

_"You're such a good boy." Kenny whispered, his face inches from Eren's. "So good for me." He leaned forward and sank his teeth into Eren's neck as he thrusted inside._

Another week passed, similar to the last two weeks. Everything was pretty much the same with Eren and Levi.. until Eren had a nightmare that was different than all the others. The nightmares he had before all involved things that already happened to him in the basement, but one night, he dreamt of something new.

_Eren was sleeping peacefully in Levi's bed, until he felt a syringe sink into his neck, and he woke with a start. He saw Kenny leaning over him, an evil smirk on his face. Eren's vision doubled as the drug quickly coursed through his veins._

_"Did you miss me, Eren?" Kenny whispered, caressing his face. "I'm taking you back.. you're all mine, and nobody will ever steal you away again."_

_Eren inhaled sharply and let out a loud scream. He couldn't move his body well because of the drug, but he could get Levi to protect him. Levi would save him.._

_Almost immediately, Levi rushed into the room. His eyes widened when he saw Kenny towering over Eren._

_"LET HIM GO!" Levi yelled._

_Kenny laughed._

_"I'm never letting him go again.. now, get out of my way." Kenny growled, picking Eren up and walking towards Levi._

_"If you want him... you'll have to get through me." Levi hissed threateningly. Instead of responding with words, Kenny quickly pulled out a gun, aimed it at Levi's forehead, and fired. Levi fell backwards, his body landing on the floor with a thump. Eren screamed in terror and devastation.. Levi had died, all because of him._

_"Hush, little pet.. you're back with your owner now. Forget about him." Kenny told Eren, stepping over Levi's lifeless form to get to the door._

_Eren sobbed, guilt tearing him apart, feeling like he was the one who was just shot. Kenny chuckled._

_"It's okay, Eren. You only need me."_

Eren woke up with a gasp, sitting straight up, his body shaking uncontrollably. He covered his mouth to muffle his sobs.. he didn't want Levi to come in this time. Eren trembled and gasped desperately for breath, feeling like he was having a heart attack. What if that dream came true? What if Kenny broke in to take Eren back, and killed Levi in the process? Kenny was a merciless man.. he would kill Levi without a second thought. God.. if Levi died, and it was Eren's fault.. he didn't know how he'd be able to survive. Eren couldn't cope with that overwhelming guilt. The thought of it made him cry harder. He couldn't bear the thought of Levi lifeless on the ground, all because of Eren. Eren took a long time to calm himself down, going over the Fibonacci sequence until he couldn't process the numbers anymore.

Eren took a deep breath once he pulled himself out of the anxiety attack, and closed his eyes. Eren knew that no matter what, he couldn't let Kenny hurt Levi too. If Kenny found Eren... he would be stuck with his fate. But Levi still had a chance to avoid the pain, the suffering, the _death_ at Kenny's hands. Eren wouldn't let Levi get hurt trying to protect him. He couldn't bear the weight- he couldn't handle being the cause of Levi's death.

Eren knew he had to get out of there. Levi had been so good and kind to him.. and that's why Eren needed to leave. He had to protect Levi. He had to keep Levi safe from Kenny, safe from the possibility of getting killed. Eren wished he could stay in that little apartment.. he wished he could stay with the only person who made him feel safe.

But he couldn't. For Levi's sake, he couldn't.

So Eren packed a bag with all the clothes Levi bought for him and his dreamcatcher.. he was still wearing Levi's coat. He slowly and carefully walked into the living room and saw Levi asleep on the couch. Eren felt a pang in his chest when he saw Levi sleeping peacefully, blissfully unaware of what Eren was doing.. god, it hurt so badly to leave him.

Eren pulled out his notepad and wrote down a note, explaining to Levi that he left.

Eren quietly ripped out the page and placed it on the kitchen counter, setting his golden key down on top of it. Eren had tears in his eyes when he turned to look at Levi one last time. He wished more than anything that he didn't have to do this, but there was nothing else he could do. Eren exhaled shakily and walked to the door. He opened it as quietly as he could, slipped out, and closed it again. He began walking through the dark streets of New York, and his sense of warmth and safety faded the farther away from the apartment he got. At one point, he turned around and considered going back.. but he knew he couldn't.

Eren walked for a while. He didn't know where he was going or what he was doing at all, but he needed to get as far away from the apartment as possible, so he wasn't tempted to go back. Eren eventually stopped walking and sat down on the side of the street. He didn't know what to do or where to go. He felt completely lost and destroyed, but he couldn't do anything about it. Eren laid down, clutching his bag with freezing hands, and eventually fell asleep to escape his fears, thoughts of Levi and Kenny swirling through his mind like a hazy storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a new chapter !! hopefully you enjoy this,, stuff is about to get Real

Levi woke up to his alarm the next morning, and let out a yawn. He didn't wake up at all the night before.. he guessed that meant that Eren didn't have any nightmares. Levi was very pleased about that. He gladly calmed Eren down whenever he had those nightmares, and he didn't mind doing it at all, but hearing Eren's terrified screams and cries was an awful experience. Levi had no idea what any of the kid's nightmares were about.. but he had obviously been through some fucked up shit.

Levi sighed at the thought and stood up, stretching. He decided to make French toast for breakfast.. Eren seemed to like it, and it was pretty easy to make. Levi walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard. He grabbed his ingredients and put them down on the counter, but then he noticed something was laying there.

Eren's key..? Why was it there? Maybe the kid lost it... but Levi highly doubted that. Eren constantly wore the key around his neck, even when he slept. Levi inspected it further, and saw that it was on top of a ripped little piece of paper. Levi lifted the key to find a scribbled note from Eren. His heart leapt into his throat at the first two words, and he froze in place.

'I left. I'm sorry that I can't explain why, but I need you to know that it's not your fault. You've been so good to me, and I appreciate it more than you could ever know. I'm sorry I have to do this to you, but it's for your own good, I promise. I'm sorry. Thank you for everything, Levi. I'll be forever grateful.'

Levi's knees buckled under him, feeling like he was going to pass out as he read the note. Eren.. Eren was _gone_.

Levi rushed into his bedroom, yelling Eren's name desperately, hoping it was some kind of morbid joke. The bed was deserted, and any trace that Eren ever lived there was gone. Levi felt his heart burning in his chest, like someone was stabbing him over and over and over. He didn't realize how much the kid really meant to him until that moment.. god, Levi couldn't lose him. He had no idea why Eren had left. Levi reread the note. Eren said it wasn't Levi's fault.. then whose fault was it? Why did Eren have to leave? He stated that it was for Levi's own good, but Levi didn't believe that for a second. He'd gotten attached to the kid, and letting him go would hurt more than anything else.

Levi grabbed his phone and wallet and rushed out the door. Eren could only have gone so far before needing to rest. He had to be somewhere nearby.

Levi ran. He ran and ran and searched for Eren until he couldn't breathe. He showed pictures of Eren to anyone who would listen and asked if they had seen him, but nobody seemed to know anything. After a few hours, one homeless man pointed down a street and said he thought Eren went that way. That was the first ray of hope Levi found, and he held onto it desperately.

Levi had been searching for about three hours when he finally found the kid. He was close to giving up, tears welling up in his eyes, wondering if he should go back home- when he spotted his black coat on the other side of the street. Levi rushed over there as fast as he could, not giving a shit about the cars that honked their horns as they nearly slammed into him.

"Eren!" He yelled, running towards the kid, who was sitting on the side of the street with his knees clutched to his chest and a bag next to him.

The kid's beautiful eyes widened, and Levi thought that relief would fill them.. but devastation filled them instead.

He shook his head wildly as Levi approached.

'No.. Levi, no, you shouldn't be here!' He signed erratically, looking terrified.

"Why not, Eren..? I couldn't just let you leave like that! I care about you, kid.. that note you left.. god, it crushed me." Levi told him honestly, sitting down next to him on the sidewalk.

"Why did you leave, Eren? What can I do to make you stay? I just want to help you, kid. Tell me what I can do to help you." Levi asked, his eyes painfully honest as he looked at Eren.

Eren closed his eyes, looking like he was having an internal conflict with himself. Something was obviously tearing the kid apart..

Eren opened his eyes again after a few moments and looked at Levi.

'I can't stay with you, Levi. I'm sorry. Please leave.' Eren signed, his fingers shaking. From the cold or from his emotions, Levi wasn't sure.

Levi rubbed his temples, exhaling heavily.

"Please, Eren. Please don't shut me out. I need you to talk to me here. Can you just tell me why you left? If nothing else, I need to know that." Levi pleaded. He had to know why Eren thought that he needed to leave the little apartment and go back into the streets. Why would the kid give up a helping hand and a safe place to live, just to be homeless and alone again? Why would anyone choose to do that to themselves..?

\---

Eren pulled his notepad and pen out from his pocket, and took several minutes to figure out what to say. He was so shocked when Levi appeared.. the man looked desperate and exhausted. God knows how long he'd been looking for Eren. Seeing Levi like that crushed Eren with guilt.. he just wanted Levi to forget about him and stay away. That would make it much easier for Eren to do the same. But, no.. Levi had to come out of nowhere and tell Eren that he cared about him, complicating everything.

Eren shakily wrote down on his notepad. He didn't want to tell Levi about Kenny, but Levi deserved to know why Eren left out of the blue.

'I'm pretty sure that someone is after me, Levi. Someone wants to hurt me and I don't want you getting hurt in the process. I had to leave, don't you understand? I had to leave to keep you safe.' Eren wrote, and handed the paper to Levi.

Levi looked back up at Eren, his expression confused and slightly alarmed.

"Someone's after you..? Then why would you let yourself live out in the open like this? You'd be much safer in the apartment." Levi commented.

'There's no safety when it comes to him, Levi. If he wants me, he will get me, no matter the boundaries. I'm just trying to keep you out of the line of danger.' Eren explained.

"Ah.. I understand." Levi said, and Eren exhaled in relief. "But I can't accept it."

Eren glared at him.

"I understand that you want to protect me, but I'm not going to let you suffer out here for my sake. You have a place to stay with food and water.. you don't need to be out here. I'd much rather get hurt with you by my side, than have you get hurt out here alone. Plus.. you've been with me for what, a month now? And neither of us have gotten hurt. Why are you paranoid about it all of a sudden?"

Eren sighed.

'I had a nightmare last night, where he killed you to get to me. I won't ever let that happen. And this is the only way to guarantee your safety.' He wrote stubbornly.

"Eren.. you forget that I'm even more stubborn than you are. If you won't come live with me again, I'll stay out here with you. We could get hurt either way.. but wouldn't it be better to live in the apartment instead of staying out here in the cold?" Levi said.

Eren glared at him harder, knowing that Levi had beaten him.

'You would actually stay out here with me?' Eren signed in disbelief.

"Yes. I don't want you to be alone, kid." Levi answered immediately.

Eren sighed, shaking his head.

'I won't be able to handle it if you're hurt because of me, Levi. Please promise me that you won't put yourself in danger to protect me.' Eren wrote.

"I'm sorry, I can't promise you that. But I can promise you that I'll do everything I can to keep both of us safe, so we won't even have to think about getting hurt.. I won't let anything happen to us, Eren." Levi told him reassuringly.

Eren couldn't help but relax at those calming words. As much as he wanted to resist and protect Levi from Kenny, he had to give in.

"So.. will you come home with me, Eren?" Levi questioned softly.

Eren bit his lip and nodded slowly.

Levi sighed in relief, smiling a little.

"Thank you, kid. Come on."

Levi helped Eren stood up, and they started walking. They went into a restaurant together on the way, since Levi insisted on getting some food into Eren.

"Eren.." Levi said while they were waiting for their meal. "Who do you think wants to hurt you?"

Eren blinked rapidly at the sudden question.

'I really don't want to tell you about that. I'm sorry.' Eren signed, immediately feeling guilty.

"It's okay, kid." Levi told him. "Can I tell you a secret that might make you feel a little better?"

Eren nodded, curious.

"Someone might be after me, too." Levi admitted. Eren stared at him.

'What?' He signed, taken aback.

"I told you about living here with my uncle and getting in a fight with him, didn't I?" Levi asked, and Eren nodded.

"I never told you why we got in a fight. It's really fucked up, so... bear with me." Levi stated. "My uncle was always doing shit in his room.. I never knew what he was doing, but sometimes, late at night, I heard crying in there. And I knew it wasn't him. And sometimes my uncle would come out of his room covered in blood. I... I turned a blind eye to it for a long time. I was too afraid of what would happen if I confronted him, and I never went in his room in fear of what I might see.

But one day, when I was sixteen, school got released early. I walked home and I heard awful wailing from my uncle's room.. and I couldn't stand it anymore. I went into his room and saw some kid my age, chained up in his bed. He was naked and bloody and... God, I can't even describe it, it was so awful. I found the keys to the chains, freed the kid, and gave him some of my clothes. The kid ran off, and not long after, my uncle got home. He saw that I freed the kid and flipped his shit, screaming at me and threatening to chain me up like that. I couldn't take it, so.. I knocked him out and got the hell out of there. I'm not sure about it, but I think my uncle is after me. He's a shitty, stubborn man, and he would probably do anything to get revenge on me for letting that guy go and knocking him out like that. But, it's been nine years, so.. he could've gotten over it. Who knows." Levi explained.

Eren stared at him with wide eyes, his pulse quickening, a sneaking suspicion entering his mind.

_No... There's no way. That would just be too cruel. There's no way in hell._

Eren felt frozen in place as he considered the possibility. He scrambled for his notepad and wrote down, 'What's your uncle's name?' In scraggly letters. Levi's uncle sounded terribly similar to someone else.. Eren prayed that his hunch was just that.

"Uh, it's Kenny, why?" Levi replied, puzzled.

Eren's world slowed to a stop.

His breath hitched and he flinched, unable to believe it. No.. no, no, God, _please_ , no. Eren felt his stomach rolling with nausea. Shock took over his system and he felt dizzy.. he couldn't process this information.

Eren was shaking his head in disbelief, the blood draining from his face.

"Eren... Eren, what's wrong? You're so pale.. breathe, Eren, talk to me.." Levi tried to help him, but Eren's hearing was muffled and he couldn't understand what the man was saying.

Eren shoved his chair back and stumbled to his feet. He shook his head again, his eyes wide in fear as he stared back at Levi. He turned around and bolted out of the restaurant, overwhelmed.

Levi- his sweet, perfect, helpful Levi.. was related to the most malicious, horrible man alive. The man that haunted Eren's nightmares, the man that tortured him relentlessly for a whole year. How.. how the _fuck_ was it possible?

Eren sprinted outside and fell to his knees, his body trembling. He leaned over and vomited, his throat aching horrifically as he did. Once Eren finished, he wiped his mouth, and Levi was right next to him.

Levi tried to soothe him how he usually did, with sweet words and a hand on his back, but Eren shrugged him off and grabbed his notepad, feeling sick at the touch.

'Tall, pale, dark hair, beard on his jawline, wrinkles around his eyes, smokes a lot, always looks like he's going to kill someone?' Eren wrote shakily, trying to hold onto the tiny bit of hope that maybe it wasn't the same person.

Levi read the paper and looked up at Eren, shocked.

"Y...yes, that's exactly what he's like." Levi responded.

Eren shook his head in denial, covering his face, his world spinning and falling apart in front of his eyes.

"Eren... What's wrong? How do you know Kenny?" Levi asked gently, worriedly, and Eren flinched at the sound of his name.

"Is.. is Kenny the man that you think is after you?" Levi asked in disbelief.

Eren flinched again, violently, bile rising in his throat. He scribbled down more on his notepad. His handwriting was barely legible by that point.. he was trying his best not to start sobbing.

'Please stop saying his name. Yes.'

"Oh.. I'm so sorry, kid. Just try to breathe, okay?" Levi replied, sounding like he didn't know what to say.

After a few minutes of deep breaths and counting, Eren was able to breathe normally again.

"What happened to you, kid? What did that bastard do?" Levi questioned, sounding like he wanted to rip Kenny apart.. but he didn't even know what happened.

'Can we talk about it at the apartment? It's freezing out here... I promise I'll tell you when we get back.' Eren wrote.

"Yeah, of course, kid. Can you stand?"

Eren nodded.

They both stood and walked to the apartment together, both lost in their own thoughts. Eren was terrified at the thought of telling Levi about what happened to him, but he knew it was time. Levi had told Eren everything about his past, and Eren shared almost nothing in return. He had to do this.. even if he didn't feel ready.

They got to the apartment sooner than Eren would've liked. Levi made tea, and gave Eren a mug of it while he was writing his story.

It took Eren a long time to get it all out perfectly, but Levi was patient.

'When my parents died, I went to a foster home for two years before it happened. I was sixteen... I was walking home from tutoring. The walk was about twenty minutes long. Even though it was dark outside, I didn't think anything bad would happen. But I was very, very wrong. I was listening to music, so I didn't hear the van, or Kenny getting out of it. He ran up behind me and stuck a syringe in my neck. I didn't even realize what was happening until the drug knocked me out. Kenny dragged me into his van and drove me here, all the way from Rhode Island. I don't know why he was there in the first place or why he kidnapped ME, but he did. I woke up in a basement. Inside of a cage as small as a dog's. Kenny unlocked me, threw me onto the bed next to the cage, handcuffed my wrists and ankles to the edges of the bed, tore all my clothes off, and... you can imagine what happened next. Every day, he would take me out of that cage, chain me to the bed, and do whatever he liked to me. Then he'd lock me back up in the cage and leave me there. He gave me food and water once a day, but he never let me go to a bathroom or anything. And he never let me see the outside world. All I knew was that basement. I was held captive there for over a year. I can't even begin to explain how awful it was. I was in unbearable pain every single day.. I have countless scars all over my body from Kenny. He tortured me constantly. It was so horrible, and I couldn't do anything about it. I was completely at his mercy. Disobeying him meant punishment, and it was never worth it. Finally, after that long, long year, someone else walked into the basement. It was some random man I'd never seen before. He told me that he was getting revenge on Kenny by freeing me. He unlocked me, gave me clothes, and let me go. I didn't have any idea what to do. I didn't even know where I was. I just ran out of there and collapsed on the side of the street. I was so malnourished and unused to the exercise, since I had barely ever eaten or stood the whole time I was in that basement.. I was lost and overwhelmed, and nobody wanted to help me. I had no way of getting food or water since I could barely walk, so I just laid there for about a week. And then you found me. You said earlier that Kenny is a stubborn man. I agree, and I really don't think he would just let me go that easily. I'm terrified that he's going to find me and steal me away again. I really don't doubt that that will happen. I'm scared about telling you all this. I hope you don't think badly of me. I'm really ashamed of all that happened to me, and I really wish I could just forget all of it. But I can't. And now I can't stop having all these fucking nightmares about what happened and- I'm sorry. I'm going to stop writing now.'

Eren finally finished writing. He handed the notepad to Levi and laid down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. It.. it really did feel good to get that off his chest. He was still anxious of Levi's reaction and ashamed about what happened, but.. Eren felt a bit better now that he told someone about what happened to him.

After several minutes, Levi spoke.

"Of course I don't think badly of you, Eren.. none of that was your fault." Levi said, sounding more distraught than Eren had ever heard him.

He stood up and paced around for a moment, letting out a long string of curses in French.. Eren had absolutely no idea what he was saying, but Levi seemed like he could've ripped Kenny's head off.

"That fucking piece of shit.. fuck.. I wish I called the police. I could've stopped this from ever happening to you.. I could've put that bastard behind bars before he had a chance to get his disgusting hands anywhere near you. I'm so sorry, Eren.. if I had any idea.." Levi rambled. " _Ce fils de pute..! Pour l'amour de dieu.. Ma douce Eren.. Je souhaite que je vous aurais protégé_."

Eren exhaled shakily. Did Levi even know he was slipping into French? He sounded so upset, he probably didn't even realize it.

Levi paced for a few more minutes, murmuring things to himself in French, when he finally sighed and sat down on the floor close to Eren.

"Kid.. Can you look at me?" Levi said, his voice much softer.

Eren turned his head to face him.

Levi had tears in his eyes.. Eren was shocked to see that.

"I.." Levi began, and his voice cracked slightly. He took a deep breath and tried again. "I'm so sorry that any of that happened to you, kid. I... I'm never going to let that bastard touch you again. He won't take you again, okay? I won't ever let that happen."

Eren smiled a tiny bit.

'Thank you.' He mouthed. A tear escaped Levi's eye and he wiped it off quickly, embarrassed.

"God, I care about you more than I should, kid. We barely even know each other.. but I know that I would do anything to protect you from that asshole." Levi confessed, his eyes full of emotion.

Eren smiled a bit wider, although his eyes were pained.

'Thank you, Levi.' He mouthed, feeling safe again.

Levi didn't judge Eren for anything that happened to him. He just wanted to protect Eren. Eren felt like he had someone who really cared about him.. it was a wonderful, warm feeling that spread through Eren's chest, making him smile even wider. He sat on the floor next to Levi and pulled him into a hug before he could think twice about it. Levi hugged him back, and Eren breathed in his calming smell of tea and pine. They held each other for awhile, both of them trying to process everything and calm down in each other's arms. Eren could've fallen asleep, he was so relaxed against Levi.. he felt like Levi's hug was pushing all of his broken pieces back together, making him whole again.

After awhile, they pulled apart from each other. They made food and ate it together while watching a movie, like usual. Levi called in sick to work, not wanting to leave Eren after he spilled all that sensitive information.

They sat closer together that evening than they usually did... and Eren didn't mind one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading, i'd love to hear your thoughts on this !! and im so sorry if that little part in French was wrong, I used google translate :')


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